Lionel Messi blasts ‘fake news’ as Barcelona says links to Inter and him paying Ronaldinho’s prison bail are both ‘lies’

LIONEL MESSI has branded reports linking him to Inter Milan and that he paid for Ronaldinho’s bail as “fake news”.

The Barcelona superstar posted an angry message to his 147MILLION Instagram followers to say the stories are “lies”.

Barca legend Ronaldinho, and his brother Roberto Assis, were released from Paraguayan prison earlier this week and placed under house arrest.

The pair had been behind bars for more than a month after a bizarre case saw them arrested for allegedly using fake passports.

Lawyers for the brothers had posted a $1.6million (£1.3m) bail – prompting speculation about where the money had suddenly come from.

Messi’s name was dragged into it but the Argentine forward made it clear on Instagram that it was nothing to do with him.

This week the Barca No10 has also been heavily linked with a move to Inter Milan, with rumours that he has fallen out of love with the Nou Camp hierarchy.

Messi has had high-profile bust-ups with president Josep Bartomeu and director of football Eric Abidal in recent months.

The star took a screenshot from TNT Sports and wrote: “#FakeNews'”and “Lie 1: Messi to Inter, Lie 2: Messi gave money to Ronaldinho in jail”.

He then added: “What they said about Newell’s Old Boys a few weeks ago is also false, thank God no one believed them…”

Former Inter president Massimo Moratti had stoked the flames by saying a transfer was a possibility for the Serie A giants.

He told Radio Rai: “I don’t think it’s a forbidden dream at all. Maybe it wasn’t even before this misfortune [the coronavirus lockdown].

“Messi is at the end of his contract and it would certainly be attempted to bring him home. I don’t know if this situation will change anything, but I think we will see strange things at the end of the year.”